Juan Martin del Potro is back in the finals at the BNP Paribas Open…
The 29-year-old Argentine tennis player defeated Canada’s Milos Raonic in straight sets to advance to the finals against Roger Federer at Indian Wells on Sunday.
del Potro breezed past No. 32 Raonic 6-2, 6-3 in 66 minutes for his 10th consecutive match victory and the 400th of his injury-plagued career.
“It was surprising to see him [Raonic] serving not too hard, and I broke his serve very quick in both sets,” del Potro said. “That gave me the control of the match.”
del Potro has fought back from left wrist surgeries in 2014 and 2015 (twice) and another one on his right wrist in 2010 that nearly caused him to quit tennis. He is 16-3 this year with one title in Acapulco.
“I didn’t play him before his injuries, but his backhand was probably one of the things that was overlooked because the forehand was so hard,” Raonic said. “But the backhand, I remember when he won the U.S. Open, he could hit it crosscourt without any guys being able to have the freedom of running around or anything. He’s gotten that back quite a bit.”
del Potro previously appeared in the finals back in 2013, losing to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.